Lawmakers Call for Easing Syria Sanctions After Assad Ouster
Several lawmakers have urged the Biden administration to ease sanctions on Syria in light of the overthrow of the Assad regime by rebel forces.
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Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee that deals with the Middle East, said in a statement Dec. 16 that “the U.S. should not be stubbornly reluctant to lift decades-old sanctions that were constructed to put pressure on a government that is no longer in power. Most immediately, the U.S. should temporarily suspend sanctions that hamper the much-needed surge in humanitarian assistance and reconstruction that will be necessary to help support the Syrian people in the short term.”
Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East, and Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., chairman of the Free Syria Caucus, said in a Dec. 10 letter to National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen that the administration should suspend sanctions to encourage reconstruction, economic development and foreign investment.
At the same time, the administration should ensure that "former regime elements" can't access their assets, that terrorist organizations can't access the international financial system and that the new government is incentivized to follow international norms, the House members wrote.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Ben Cardin, D-Md., has taken a more cautious approach to sanctions relief, saying Dec. 11 that the new government first needs to show it will respect human rights and won't harbor terrorist organizations (see 2412120051). State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller made similar comments Dec. 16, saying the administration will be monitoring the new government's actions "over the coming weeks."